It was a windy and cold night when I tried the Lake Placid Black Tie Chocolate Vanilla Porter. Since Lake Placid’s beers are only available in the Northeast region, I wanted to try one out before I graduate. I figured a porter on a winter night would be just the right thing to make me feel warm and at ease.

But alas, this one didn’t really work for me.

The bottle is as inviting as the name. It’s dark brown and accentuated with a red reclining chair nestled into a bed of snow making one feel as if they are on Lake Placid themselves.

I took my time on the pour as I didn’t want to distort the head, and man, it looked good. It had a creamy, frothy, thick layer of foam that sat perfectly atop the almost-black beer. The tannish, light-brown head contrasted the dark color beautifully.

The Black Tie Chocolate Vanilla Porter smells delicious, almost like walking into a candy shop. You get a bit of chocolate, a bit of vanilla and then you get a hint of bourbon and sugar. It smells perfect, like a cozy winter night.

Right when the beer hits your tongue, it is unexpectedly fizzy — too much fizz for me. I had a hard time figuring out what it tasted like, but here’s what I came up with: black coffee and vanilla cola, with notes of chocolate and sugar.

The finish is bittersweet — pretty harsh actually. You know the feeling on your tongue when you have a piece of extra dark chocolate? Well, that’s what you’re getting with this porter.

You also probably wouldn’t want to drink too many of these at a time. It’s heavy, thick and has a pretty high alcohol content at 7 percent ABV.

As a college student with a young palate, I’m still a budding beer connoisseur and by no means an expert. While I didn’t love this porter, that doesn’t mean it won’t appeal to someone else who prefers something sweet and fizzy. My recommendation? Give the Black Tie Chocolate Vanilla Porter a try this winter because it just may work for you.

Published on February 25, 2016 at 12:01 am